Two weeks before Election Day, the battle for control of the Senate depends in part on behind-the-scenes masterminds working to sell their candidates in the toss-up states like Kansas.

The nail-biting Senate race there will be a test of the hard-charging approach of Chris LaCivita, a former Marine and longtime Republican operative dispatched by the National Republican Senatorial Committee last month to shore up GOP Sen. Pat Roberts’ campaign in his tight contest against independent candidate Greg Orman. Read More »

Younger voters backed President Barack Obama by a nearly two-to-one margin in 2012, but that isn’t stopping the College Republican National Committee from trying to make inroads with millennials. Read More »

On Friday, wealthy philanthropist and environmentalist Tom Steyer is addressing Democracy Alliance, a group of liberal donors who are planning how they can have the most impact on the 2014 mid-term elections.

Mr. Steyer is fresh off his successful backing of Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the governor’s race in Virginia. He and an environmental advocacy organization he founded, NextGen Climate Change, contributed about $8 million in a combination of donations, advertising and groundwork, according to an adviser to the group. Read More »

Veteran pollster Andy Kohut (@AndrewKohut1) says tucked away in polls that document extraordinary anger at Republicans over the shutdown crisis are measures of clear disappointment with the Democrats that raise big questions about the 2014 midterms. Democrats, he says, are struggling because President Barack Obama is struggling. [WSJ]

New York Fed President Bill Dudley cites an “important problem evident within some large financial institutions,” namely “the apparent lack of respect for law, regulation and the public trust.” He sees “evidence of deep-seated cultural and ethical failures at many large financial institutions.” [Huffington Post] Read More »

More than a dozen Democratic senators up for re-election in 2014 met with President Barack Obama on Wednesday to complain about the rollout of the new federal health law, the newest sign that Democrats are worried that problems with the law will be an issue in next year’s races.

The list of attendees was a who’s who of Democrats facing elections next year. Of the 16 Senate Democrats who will run for re-election in 2014, 15 were at the White House, including Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. Also joining was Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is playing a key role in ensuring that Democrats keep control of the Senate next year… Read More »

A parade of proxies has descended on Virginia to help the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor, making the Old Dominion the most coveted travel site in the nation this fall. Both Hillary and Bill Clinton have been stumping for Democrat Terry McAuliffe, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the party’s powerhouse fundraiser.

Mr. Clinton just spent a four day weekend doing that which he loves – campaigning and talking. The weekend before that, Ms. Clinton, former secretary of state and possible presidential candidate in 2016, came out for Mr. McAuliffe, making her first campaign appearance in five years. She came to Falls Church, part of the northern Virginia-Washington suburbs. When Mrs. Clinton showed up two weeks ago, the crowd just kept chanting “Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!” – Mr. McAuliffe only had to bask in her glow. Read More »

Democrat Terry McAuliffe now has a double-digit lead over Republican Ken Cuccinelli in the Virginia governor’s race, according to the latest Washington Post/Abt SRBI poll.

The former Clinton fundraiser now tops the attorney general 51% to 39% among likely voters with a week left in the campaign. Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis received 8% of the vote. In the same poll taken last month, Mr. McAuliffe had an 8-point lead over Mr. Cuccinelli, 47% to 39%, with Mr. Sarvis receiving 10%. Read More »

On Monday night, Bill Clinton, who’s popped up all over Virginia promoting Democrat Terry McAuliffe, his longtime friend and the Democratic Party’s powerhouse fundraiser, is headlining another event for Mr. McAuliffe’s race for governor, according to Democratic sources.

The twist is that the setting will be the McLean mansion of Dwight Schar, a wealthy homebuilder who started his empire in Virginia – and a former fundraiser for the Republican National Committee.

Yes, from 2005 to 2007, Mr. Schar was the RNC’s finance chairman—he was also a George W. Bush Pioneer-level donor, and gave several hundred thousand dollars in 2012 to GOP PACs and candidates, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics… Read More »

The contest also raises a deeper question, however, about the future of socially conservative candidates in the state. A survey of past election results and population shifts suggests an increasingly difficult landscape for candidates with strong social conservative positions — or at least for those framed as social conservatives. Read More »

About Washington Wire

Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.